There was one knock on his door before it flew open. I removed my hand from his in a second.
“Most of the time, it's polite for people to knock and wait for a response.” Caspien's voice turned hard.
“You didn’t have any appointments.”
“Come on, man, maybe he just wanted to j.ack off in peace.”
I turned around to see a tall blonde that looked like he had walked out of an ad for surfboards and a shorter but bulkier man beside him with wild dark hair and eyes that looked like obsidian pools.
“This is my Beta Griffen.” He motioned to the darker one. “And my Gamma, Holden.” The blonde flashed me a smile.
The darker one, Griffen, nodded deeply to me in a way that almost mimicked a bow. Caspien sighed behind me.
“They were just leaving-”
“Actually-” Holden started.
“I’m Willa.” I smiled at them, trying to ease some tension I felt from Caspien.
“Finally, someone with manners.” Holden smiled at me but gave his Alpha a glare.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you finally.” Griffen looked at me but didn’t smile.
“He does that.” Holden winced at Griffen’s direction. “Don’t take it personally. He just doesn’t do that whole smiling thing very often. Actually, I have to do it for the whole group. My jaw is exhausted after one meeting,” Holden rubbed his jaw, and Griffen gave him a deadpan look.
I laughed. “I was actually leaving." I stood up, looking back at Caspien.
“How about no one leaves and everyone stays.” Caspien sighed but didn’t take his eyes off me.
“Works for me,” Holden took the seat next to me, and Griffen stood behind us.
“Do you want my seat?” I asked him. I was quite literally in the middle of their meeting now.
His eyes widened slightly. “No, of course not.”
“He likes standing.” Holden winked at me. “Just in case an invisible threat comes through the door,”
“What about you?” I asked him, "Not worried about invisible threats?"
“Eh.” He crossed his hands behind his head and leaned back. “I like to believe I’ll be lucky. Too much stress to worry about all that, bad for the frown lines.”
Caspien pinched the bridge of his nose. “Holden is my dad’s Gamma’s son. He inherited the title; he wasn’t chosen,” he explained, giving Holden a look.
“Ah, nepotism baby,” I remarked, earning me a laugh from not just Caspien but Griffen as well.
“So what can I do for you, gentlemen, since you’ve barged in here?” Caspien asked.
“The new patrols aren’t working out as well as we thought. There have been some problems within the groups even though they have been assigned rank,” Griffen stated.
“Within our groups?” Caspien specified.
“Yes.”
Caspien turned his gaze to me. “We’re working with another Alpha, not in our jurisdiction, that borders one side of our pack. It’s become a bit messy, mostly because of the other Alpha’s incompetence,” he filled me in, “Our specialized patrols groups are trained in units based on their skill sets from an early age. They live and train together to become expert units.”
“Some of the units have become pretty tight-knit, almost too tight-knit, and aren’t used to working well with others,” Griffen went on from behind me.
I guess that was one way to do it if you had the resources that their pack did. Blue Ridge just had a small band of warriors. I don't think we had enough to even think about one special unit or whatever they were called.
“Do you need me to go down there and straighten them out, or can you?” Caspien turned his attention to Griffen.
“I can. I just wanted to give you the report and let you know.” Griffen pushed a folder over to Caspien, who immediately opened it and flipped through the pages.
“I’m sorry, I really should be going. I don’t want to intrude on your meeting. This is obviously pack business, and I want you to be able to speak freely,” I stood up.
“Even though you’re not officially part of the pack, you can hear this.” Caspien looked in my direction. “If you're comfortable, I want you to stay.”
I sat back down. Even when I was going to be Blue Ridge’s Luna, when Nolan was in a meeting with his dad or his future Beta and Gamma, I was expected to leave them to it. His mother caught me sitting in on a meeting once in the beginning and scolded me for getting in the way.
“Are you sure? I’m not going to be upset if that’s what you’re worried about.” I smiled at him.
“I like her,” Holden cut in.
“I would love your insights in the future if you’re okay with that. Unofficially, of course.” He gave me a knowing smile, and I nodded, settling back into the chair as they continued talking.
“It’s always Ray’s group. They don’t work well with others.” Griffen’s voice came from behind me again. “I might move him back to regular patrols if he can’t play nice.”
“You’re not solving the problem long-term,” I surprised myself by saying.
“Go on,” Caspien said, tilting his head towards me.
“I obviously don’t know the dynamics or much about fighting, honestly.” I shook my head. “I had to give up training when I was studying to become a Luna.” I noticed them all looking between each other.
“An outsider's opinion can be beneficial,” Griffen said, taking a step forward to the side of Caspien’s desk so I could see him too. “Not saying you’re an outsider, just a fresh perspective,” he added quickly.
“I’m just saying that having a group that you can rely on seems great, team building and all that jazz.” I smiled at them. “But if they’re only used to working within those units, then what happens if they have to work outside of them?"
"They don't usually have to," Griffen responded.
I nodded. "That's great, but what happens if a problem arises from outside the pack?" Griffen shifted towards me, and I had to look away from his dark stare. "What happens when they turn to the person next to them in a battle, and they aren't part of their unit? What if they're fighting alongside someone who they don't understand their style or have memorized their weaknesses and can fill in the gaps?" I shrugged. "I can’t help but wonder what would happen if the units had to fight together. I doubt the problems they’re facing now would disappear just because there was a common threat.”
“Go on.” Griffen was studying me now, but his face didn’t hold any judgment. "What would you suggest?"
“Maybe you could have them train with other units or swap some or all of them around. Not forever, but they’ve gotten used to working with the people around them. That’s great, but it could make them complacent. When's the last time those in these special teams really had to challenge themselves within their units?”
I looked toward Caspien and Griffen, both of them were silent, and I felt like more of an i.diot than I did when I waltzed in here. I probably overstepped or was completely out of line.
"Partial rotation." Griffen's brows furrowed.
“How long would that take to implement?” Caspien asked Griffen.
“Depending on the scale of it, not long. A week or two tops.”
“We could start with a few and see how it goes. Try different approaches before we do it on a larger scale,” Holden added. I looked at him, and he was rubbing his chin as if contemplating something, still looking like a d.amn Hollister Model.
“Let’s start with the ones on the border with the rogues. I want them pulled and switched out tonight. Tomorrow they start mingling. Do you have enough time to start on a program?”
Griffen nodded. “Holden, come with me.”
“Where are we going?” Holden complained but stood up and started to follow him out.
“We have to work on this, and I miss my mate, so we’re working from home, my home,” Griffen commanded.
Holden sighed and turned around, sketching a bow to both of us. “Your majesties, it was a pleasure.”
“Thank you for your insight, Lun- Willa. Willa,” Griffen said. I felt my cheeks flush at the almost mention of the title. “I’ll keep you both posted on the first phase.”
“It was great meeting you both; thank you for letting me intrude,” I said to them. I really liked them both.
I felt...I don’t know. I felt good, validated, seen. All of the things that I thought becoming a Luna would be until I was actually in my Luna training.
"Are you expecting to bring us a war, Ms. Balfour?" Caspien's smile was wicked but bright.
I shrugged. "Let me settle in first, and then I can see what I can muster for you,"
“You are f.ucking brilliant, Willa.” He shook his head with nothing but admiration in his eyes.